In total roughly 16, tree species are believed to exist in the Amazon, but half the total number of trees are thought to belong to just species. Almost none of the most dominant species are widespread throughout the Amazon. Instead, most are abundant in a particular region or forest type, such as swamps or uplands.
The study also offers insights into the rarest tree species in the Amazon. According to a mathematical model used in the study, roughly 6, Amazonian tree species have populations of fewer than 1, individuals. The green mamba, one of the deadliest snakes in the world, blends in with foliage as it slither s up branches in the Congo rainforest. Many bats, birds, and insects prefer the open airspace the understory offers.
Amphibians, such as dazzlingly colored tree frogs, thrive in the humidity because it keeps their skin moist. Gorillas, a critically endangered species of primate , are crucial for seed dispersal. Gorillas are herbivore s that move throughout the dark, dense rainforest as well as more sun-dappled swamp s and jungle s. Their droppings disperse seeds in these sunny areas where new trees and shrubs can take root. In this way, gorillas are keystone species in many African rainforest ecosystems.
The forest floor is the darkest of all rainforest layers, making it extremely difficult for plants to grow. Leaves that fall to the forest floor decay quickly. Decomposer s, such as termites, slugs, scorpions, worms, and fungi, thrive on the forest floor. Organic matter falls from trees and plants, and these organisms break down the decaying material into nutrient s. The shallow roots of rainforest trees absorb these nutrients, and dozens of predator s consume the decomposers!
Animals such as wild pigs, armadillos, and anteaters forage in the decomposing brush for these tasty insects, roots and tuber s of the South American rainforest. Even larger predators, including leopards, skulk in the darkness to surprise their prey.
Smaller rodents, such as rats and lowland pacas a type of striped rodent indigenous to Central and South America , hide from predators beneath the shallow roots of trees that dominate the canopy and emergent layer. Rivers that run through some tropical rainforests create unusual freshwater habitats on the forest floor. The Amazon River, for instance, is home to the boto, or pink river dolphin, one of the few freshwater dolphin species in the world.
Tropical rainforest s are mainly located between the latitude s of Such humid air produces extreme and frequent rainfall, ranging between centimeters inches per year.
Tropical rainforests are the most biologically diverse terrestrial ecosystems in the world. It is home to around 40, plant species, nearly 1, bird species, 3, types of fish, species of mammals, and 2. Red-bellied piranhas and pink river dolphins swim its waters.
Jewel-toned parrots squawk and fly through its trees. Poison dart frogs warn off predators with their bright colors. Millions of mushrooms and other fungi decompose dead and dying plant material, recycling nutrients to the soil and organisms in the understory. The Amazon rainforest is truly an ecological kaleidoscope , full of colorful sights and sounds.
Temperate rainforest s are located in the mid-latitudes, where temperatures are much more mild than the tropics. Temperate rainforests are found mostly in coast al, mountainous areas. These geographic conditions help create areas of high rainfall.
They are also much less sunny and rainy, receiving anywhere between centimeters inches of rain per year. Rainfall in these forests is produced by warm, moist air coming in from the coast and being trapped by nearby mountains.
Temperate rainforests are not as biologically diverse as tropical rainforests. They are, however, home to an incredible amount of biological productivity, storing up to metric tons of leaves, wood, and other organic matter per hectare metric tons per acre. Cooler temperatures and a more stable climate slow down decomposition, allowing more material to accumulate. The old-growth forest s of the Pacific Northwest, for example, produce three times the biomass living or once-living material of tropical rainforests.
This productivity allows many plant species to grow for incredibly long periods of time. Temperate rainforest trees such as the coast redwood in the U. The animals of the temperate rainforest are mostly made up of large mammals and small birds, insects, and reptiles. These species vary widely between rainforests in different world regions.
Bobcats, mountain lions, and black bears are major predators in the rainforests of the Pacific Northwest. Some of the findings are actually just numbers, and one of those numbers is really big. It's the number of trees we think probably grow in the Amazon, and it's billion. One advantage of writing for scientists is that you can let numbers like that drop without much in the way of apology.
Three point nine times ten to the eleventh: it is, as they say, what it is. When you write for a broader audience, though, you can't type ' billion' without pausing for a minute and casting about for something neighborly to say.
Cast about for long enough and eventually you'll hear a voice—it's that booming, prepare-to-have-your-mind-blown voice you hear in movie trailers—say something like:. And so you pick up your pen and add one of those after ' billion,' satisfied that the reader has been suitably instructed and astonished, and you go onto the next sentence.
That rhetorical device has its value, I guess, and with smaller numbers you often can find a neat comparison that does the trick. But for me, and I suspect for many other people as well, any number that's larger than a few thousand is fundamentally impossible to imagine. The number of cells in my body? The number of liters in Lake Michigan? The number of mosquitoes in Alaska? They're all one number, basically. It's like that Amazonian tribe has it: after three, the next biggest number is many.
This is a problem for me, because as a researcher I don't just like to know things—I also like to have some feeling for the things I know.
Over the last decade the area of the Field Museum I work in has helped governments in South America protect about 23 million acres of Andean and Amazonian rainforest. On the one hand, that number is part of what makes it so great to come into the museum every morning. Growing in the understory of Neotropical forests, xate is commonly used in floral arrangements due to their lush appearance and their hardiness—they can last up to 45 days after being cut!
Its hard wood, which has the same fire rating as concrete and steel, is known for its resistance to attacks by fungi and insects. Learn More ». Share Facebook. Support Our Work Create a world where people and the planet prosper together. You Might Also Like
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